In this edition of local business news, Dick’s Sporting Goods will buy the Foot Locker chain in a merger agreement. Also, special helicopters are inspecting local Met-Ed power lines.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Buying Foot Locker Brands
CORAPOLIS PA – Dick’s Sporting Goods, which operates stores locally in Pottstown, Collegeville, Reading, and King of Prussia, says it has reached a merger agreement to buy footwear and apparel retailer Foot Locker Inc.
Foot Locker brands include Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports, WSS, and atmos. The company operates 2,400 retail stores across 20 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. It also has a licensed store presence in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Its nearest local stores are in King of Prussia and Wyomissing.
Foot Locker’s 2024 net worldwide sales were stated as $8 billion.
Dick’s, in a media release Thursday (May 15, 2025), says it expects to operate Foot Locker as a standalone business unit, and maintain the Foot Locker brands.
It believes the combined company will offer strategic and financial benefits, led by creating “a global platform within the growing sports retail industry. It also hopes to serve “a broader set of consumers” across several concepts.
Photo by jetcityimage2 on Deposit Photos, used by Travels With The Post under license
Met-Ed ’Copters and Cameras Inspect Local Power Lines
POTTSTOWN PA – Local customers of Metropolitan Edison, the utility that serves portions of the TriCounty region with electricity, may see its helicopters conducting aerial inspections of power lines. Look for them “during the next several months,” the company reports.
Nearly 5,000 miles of high-voltage power lines are being inspected across six states by Met-Ed’s parent company, FirstEnergy Corp., with what it says is “infrared and ultraviolet technology.” Its Pennsylvania inspections, which are now under way, are about 50% complete, First Energy says.
Inspections are performed at low-flying patrol speeds between 25 and 35 mph, using an infrared and ultraviolet camera mounted on the bottom of the helicopter. An onboard thermographer uses a camera to view lines and structures through infrared and ultraviolet spectrums to find overheated components or voltage issues.
The specially equipped helicopter patrols help prevent future power outages, its adds. They specifically detect early-stage and often invisible equipment issues within transmission substations, and on high-voltage power lines, that cannot be observed during regular visual inspections.
Infrared and ultraviolet inspections complement other “annual aerial patrols that identify visible concerns, like overgrown trees, damaged equipment or birds nesting on electrical equipment,” according to Met-Ed.
Helicopter photo provided to Travels With The Post by FirstEnergy Corp.
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